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Internet (Winegard and T-Mobile)
Many of you know, that this is one of my favorite subjects and when you get me going on it, I do not shut-up … 🙂
Anyways, I wanted to share with you 1 or 2 new observations which pertain to cellular carriers and services.
(A) Winegard ConecT 2.0 WiFi & 4G LTE
Earlier this year, I purchased this unit and mounted it on the roof for the primary reason to have 4G LTE Internet while we visited family in Canada. The unit performed quite well and we always had a connection.
The drawback with Winegard is, that their subscription plans are very pricey. They work with AT&T in the USA In order to have Canadian service (through Bell) we had to purchase a 20GB block at “only” $150. This can be a one-time purchased or set-up to have automatic renewals. You could also use your own SIM.
But, oh well, if you have to have it … you pay.
A couple of weeks ago, we visited the Canyon De Chelly in Navajo Nation in AZ and stayed in a dry park in Chinle.
Our usual AT&T and Verizon hotspots/modems delivered very little bandwidth at 3G speeds and everyone we talked to said that the reception in the area is very poor.
Then I thought of restarting the Winegard service in the hope to get a little more bandwidth.
Low and behold, as soon as I fired-up the Winegard system, I was presented with 4G/LTE service at 98% service strength and we di have really great connectivity (while the 10GB we purchased, lasted.)
So I was wondering, how come? I do have an Unlimited AT&T SIM but it did not even get close to what Winegard provided.
I also often like to check my service speed using speedtest.com – When I had checked my speeds with our own AT&T and Verizon SIM cards, all we got was 3G.
When I switched to Winegard’s AT&T service, my speeds did immeditaly go to 4G/LTE with download speeds of about 20-25.
So, again, I was wondering, how come?
Looking more closely at the data displayed on Speedtest, I noticed a word that I had not seen before. The word is ENTERPRISE as in AT&T Enterprise.
My own AT&T SIM only says AT&T Internet.
So, apparently, there is a service difference. Most mortals get just Internet and those who pay the price can get Enterprise service.
I found that very interesting.
(B) T-Mobile
I read an article earlier today which was about a newly revived T-Mobile service and in order for T-Mobile to sign-up new customers, they offer a FREE Hotspot with 30GB of 4G/LTE data for 30 days.
Other than signing-up for the trial, you have to do nothing. No need to give them a credit card! They will send you the hotspot already activated and you can use it until you reach 30GB or 30 days.
Thereafter, if you like it, you can sign-up for service. Or, according to the test service description, you can hand the hotspot to a friend so that they can try it out.
The service is called “T-Mobile Test Drive” and here is the link https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/free-trial
Ok, that is all I have to say.
🙂
Cheers,
Ronald
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8 Replies
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Ron, after your recent post about AT&T unlimited I check out one of the Ebay
sources you gave as example, and he/they had “Enterprise”sim’s unlimited
ranging from $34 to $49 per month( still do not under the price difference)
But am extremely pleased with the speed, so far only used for service here in North Texas.
Jim Brown
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Jim, you are right about the description on eBay.
However, I reported what I saw …
Given the significant speed difference we noticed at the Canyon De Chelly, I suspect there is a difference.
Anyway, glad to hear the SIM is working out for you.
I do still use one, too.
Cheers,
Ronald
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Keep it coming Ronald, you are now the go to guy for cell and data.
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Doesn’t Ron get free dues for life because of his expertise on this subject?
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No, I already gave him free dues some time ago for his map participation.
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Well for sure we aren’t going to pay him. Free dues is a huge financial benefit.
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Ronald,
We were at a park in Georgetown, KY over the weekend and I was having trouble with the AT&T LTE signal (as in, NO signal). I thought I would try the parks WiFi. The signal showed 5G E and was awesome. Could this have been the Enterprise service you mentioned. I remember in the past that an E would should up occasionally, but that was the Edge Network I believe.
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The 5G – E is marketing nonsense by AT&T. It actually means nothing and it’s not 5G. They call it 5G Evolution but it’s no faster than any of the other carriers 4G. Other carriers have sued AT&T for their misleading advertising that it’s anything different.
Cellular speeds vary dramatically based upon how many folks are connected to the tower you are using. 3G can be faster on a lightly loaded tower than 4G on an overloaded tower.
Keep in mind that the G only stands for “Generation” so this is the 4th generation of the cellular technology but does not indicate speed or lack thereof.
5G will be a newer technology that most of us will not be able to use while traveling as the range of 5G is VERY short compared to what can be done with 4G.
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